The importance and desirability of maintaining vehicle finishes in good condition are recognized by both automobile and truck owners and operators. Such maintenance not only enhances the general appearance of a vehicle, but also contributes to preservation of vehicle integrity by reducing paint abrasions and subsequent rust formation and body degradation. Present protective product availability includes full vehicle covers, front-end covers, and side guards. Such full cover products are exemplified by Sasaki et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 3,665,355), Balanky (U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,560), and Henke et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,825), while a front end protector is taught by Waldon (U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,218). Side guard products are defined by Marquette (U.S. Pat. No. 4,294,478), Duke (U.S. Pat. No. 4,896,911), Brown (U.S. Pat. No. 5,050,925), Klein (U.S. Pat. No. 5,267,763), and McNeil (U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,145). Many of these products can be retained in place magnetically as they generally passively protect a vehicle finish primarily from weather conditions, road hazards, or minor impacts from doors of adjacently parked vehicles.
While the above devices deal with common damage that occurs during the course of driving and/or parking, none addresses protection of vehicle surfaces that can be damaged during use of the vehicle for hauling bulky items that may be in touch with such surfaces. Thus, for instance, a pickup truck may be employed to carry a ladder that is longer than the bed of the truck. A common solution for accommodating such cargo is to stand it angularly upward against the rear of the cab portion of the truck such that the cargo leans against the surface location primarily at the rear junction of the roof and the rear wall and is secured with rope or the like. When this approach is employed, the cargo (e.g. ladder) easily rubs against the surface and scratches the paint, leading to degradation of the vehicle.
In view of the above-discussed problem that occurs during transport of out-size items, it is apparent that a need is present for protection of relevant vehicle surfaces. Accordingly, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a generally stationary protective cover for a vehicle surface against which a cargo item can be positioned without damaging the underlying vehicle surface.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a protective cover having resiliency to thereby absorb weight pressure of the cargo item without transferring damaging pressure to the underlying vehicle surface.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such a protective cover that conforms to vehicle profile and accommodates the presence of vehicle equipment whose operation must not be impeded.
These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent throughout the description thereof which now follows.